After performing well in the heat on their home court the day before, the Lady Jays had a quick turnaround as they traveled to compete in the Perry-Lecompton Invitational on Tuesday, Sept. 20, in Lawrence. This tournament was bracketed play with teams from Sabetha, Perry, Maranatha Academy, KC Christian, NEK, Salina Sacred Heart, Marysville and Wabaunsee being represented.

Senior singles player Sam Arnold won her first match 7-3 against a Salina Sacred Heart opponent to put her on the winner’s side of the bracket. But a second-round loss, 3-7 to Marysville, pushed her to a bracket in a battle for fifth place. S. Arnold picked up a win in the third round over Perry 7-6, but the victor had to be determined with a tiebreaker, which she won, 9-7. In the final round, S. Arnold was pitted against teammate and fellow senior GracieAnn Glaspie. S. Arnold won this match 7-3 to take fifth place overall.

Glaspie, who also competed in singles, won her first match 7-3 over her KC Christian opponent, but fell in the second match to Maranatha, 2-7, to send her to a consolation bracket. She won her third match over a Wabaunsee player, 7-3, before falling to S. Arnold in her last match. Glaspie finished sixth overall.

Freshman Emily Arnold competed in singles play for the Lady Jays, and a first-round loss to a Maranatha player sent her to the backside of the bracket. E. Arnold fell in the second round, but rallied to win her final two rounds, 7-0, and 6-0, to capture 13th place.

In doubles action, the pairing of senior Kate Beyer and sophomore Audrey Tramp won their first two matches over Perry and their fellow Sabetha teammates in sophomores Karsyn Meyer and McKenna Gatz. But they dropped a loss in round three against Marysville and were sent to third-place consolation. The duo battled in the end, but were finally beaten by NEK 5-7 to put them in fourth place.

Also in doubles was the team of Meyer and Gatz, and this pair won their opener over Maranatha before they took on their fellow Jays, Beyer and Tramp, in the second round. Meyer and Gatz fell, 3-7, to their teammate-opponents, which put them in a bracket to battle for seventh place. This tandem won their last two matches, 7-2, and 7-0, to grab the seventh overall spot.

Junior Alexa Kaufman and sophomore Kelsey Herrmann lost their first match of bracket play, 7-0, to an NEK foe and fell to the backside of the bracket. The duo bundled a set of wins over Maranatha, 7-0, and 7-0 against KC Christian to bolster their win percentage to 2-1. In their final battle of the tournament, the tandem lost their opening match, 7-6, to Perry, and by rule, a tiebreaker would decide the outcome. It went to the wire, but the pair would fall 4-7 to take 10th place overall.

For the tournament, the Jays went 13 and 11, and they gained some valuable experience against some worthy opponents.

“This was a good tournament for us with many of the teams we will see in Regionals,” said Head Coach Alicia Deters.

Sabetha is rapidly inching towards regional competition, with a couple more tuneup matches before that. The Lady Jays traveled to Hayden Tuesday, Sept. 25. These results were not available at The Herald’s press time. They will also compete Wednesday, Sept. 26, at the Washburn Rural Invitational.